1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image forming device, an image processing device, an image processing system, an image processing method, and a recording medium which are adapted to distribute image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, many companies have made progress in the arrangement and connection of image input/output devices, such as multifunctional peripherals (MFPs), to networks. The image input/output devices play a key role as means for increasing the efficiency of business. Especially, the roles of a distribution management system in generating electronic data of paper documents and distributing the electronic data of paper documents efficiently are becoming important. The major elements which constitute the distribution management system are an image input device (for example, a scanner, etc.) and a distribution managing server. In the distribution managing server, a plurality of message distribution process menus which are adapted for various business tasks and uses are registered beforehand. A user selects a process menu suitable for a particular business task from an operation panel (operation unit) of a scanner and starts scanning of a document by the scanner.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-018640 discloses an information input device which enables the user or an administrator to input an arbitrary combination of message distribution process plug-in modules and image transforming process plug-in modules, create a workflow of image inputting, image transforming and image outputting processes, and perform a message distribution process of image data by using the created workflow.
It is common that plug-in modules supplied by vendors are to specify a small-size process by taking various users into consideration. Although the user who wishes to set up a workflow can set up various combinations of the workflow, the size of the plug-in modules is small, and the user has to combine the same plug-in module repeatedly.
Moreover, when it is specified for a certain company or a certain department that a plug-in module 2 is to be executed after an end of execution of a plug-in module 1, the plug-in modules 1 and 2 cannot be simultaneously used to set up the workflow. It is necessary to set up the workflow by using the plug-in module 1 and the plug-in module 2 sequentially in this order.